– CBS has re-upped Warner Bros.-produced Two and a Half Men for three more seasons and The Big Bang Theory for two. CBS and Warner Bros. also settled a pending lawsuit (so I guess CBS can go ahead and cancel Cold Case and Without A Trace…) – Is it a good sign when a network shaves twenty minutes off your […]
Haven’t done it in awhile, so let’s see what’s working this week – and what’s not: Four you should grab off the shelf – Garry Meier on WGN-AM. After rave reviews for his recent four-day stint at the news/talk outlet, the station should just give him the vacant 1-4 afternoon slot right now. There’s no contest. – Jon Stewart takes […]
Stop me if you’ve heard this before… The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is being criticized by governmental leaders and actor unions for airing too much American programming on the public network – a practice it has been doing for decades. The controversy comes as CBC dropped two Canadian-produced newsmagazine/lifestyle shows: Fashion File and Steven & Chris, due to low ratings and […]
Ah, it’s good to be back… because of several scheduling snafus (eliminating any free time I had), The T Dog Media Blog was unexpectedly put on hiatus last week. But we’re back -and better – and snarkier – than ever before. Let’s celebrate by reaching into the Grab Bag… – A word about this article in TV Week regarding reality’s […]
After long negotiations, WLUP-FM morning man Jonathan Brandmeier signed a one-year contract to stay with the classic rock outlet. Brandmeier, a young-adult audience sensation in the 1980’s and early 1990’s on WLUP, returned to “The Loop” four years ago from the now-defunct KLSX-FM in Los Angeles, and has enjoyed resecptable ratings success among key adult demos (though not as big […]
… and why the rest of us don’t really give a damn.
Playing in Peoria is hard these days… The owners of NBC affiliate WEEK-TV and ABC affiliate WHOI-TV in Peoria have decided to merge their operations, effective immediately. WEEK’s owner (Granite Broadcasting) took over the operations of Barrington Broadcasting-owned WHOI in a local marketing agreement, leaving just Nextstar’s CBS affiliate (WMBD-TV) as their sole local competitor. A similar scenario has played […]
I know this story is over a week old, but it is significant. Has Chicago’s media and political freak shows become too much for even the king of dysfunctional TV, Jerry Springer? According to news that became public a week and a half ago, NBC Universal – the syndicator behind raunchy talkers Maury, Jerry Springer, and The Steve Wilkos Show, […]
Enough doom and gloom! Time for some happy news (if you can call it that…) Two of television’s most durable franchises received pacts ensuring their future for some time to come. While this news actually became “official” when they started work on next season’s episodes last July, Fox announced Wednesday the renewal of The Simpsons for seasons 21 and 22, […]
From the world of deaths, we go into… layoffs. Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications cut staffers nationwide today, reducing 7.5 percent of its workforce, including seven employees at its two Chicago outlets: alternative WKQX-FM (Q101) and classic rocker The Loop (WLUP-FM). The layoffs were due to the deteriorating economy and the soft ad market, according to company officials. Emmis is also merging […]
As I said earlier, The T Dog Media Blog is turning into the T Dog Media Obituary Blog… Yet another Chicago media personality has left us. This time it’s former DJ Richard Pegue, whose resume included stints at WGCI, WVON, WJPC, WOPA, and until last weekend, Kennedy-King College’s WKKC-FM. Pegue was 64. A Hirsch high school student (where he formed […]
Just days after losing Norm Van Lier, Johnny Kerr, and James Ward, Chicago loses yet another longtime media personality – and this one was as big as they come. This person didn’t just work in radio- he was radio. Paul Harvey died Saturday in a Phoenix hospital (near his winter home) at the age of 90. Harvey began his long […]
Thursday was a tough day in Chicago media, as it was announced another well-known personality had died. Retired WLS-TV restaurant critic James Ward died on Thursday afternoon after a long battle with cancer. He was 76 – the same age as Johnny “Red” Kerr, who died the same day. Also passing on Thursday was Chicago Bull legend Norm Van Lier, […]
Former Bulls broadcaster John G. “Red” Kerr passed away at his home Thursday due to a long time battle with prostate cancer at the age of 76. Kerr died just hours after former Bulls player and analyst Norm Van Lier was found dead in his Chicago home. Kerr was the first Chicago Bulls coach (1966-68) and later had a 33-year […]
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